Be You.

What you do, does not determine who you are. Who you are, determines what you do. Just because I fix my flat tyre, doesn't make me a qualified mechanic. But a qualified mechanic fixes a lot more than flat tyres. Who are you? That will determine what you do. An actor acts. A singer sings. I don't act so that I can be an actor. I don't sing so that I can become a singer. A person must be what they are. 

Paul said the following to the believers in the book of Collosians:

"Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive and above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. 

And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Bondservants, obey in everything those who are your earthly masters, not by way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord. Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ."

I broke some rules of Bible quoting, but I did it to make a point. I pulled these out of the text of Chapter 3. But it makes the point so well. This is who you are - God's chosen ones, His Holy ones, His Beloved. NOW...be who you are, do what God's chosen, holy and beloved ones do...

So many believers are trying to do THIS or THAT in order to prove WHO they are. We need to rest in WHO WE ARE and who CHRIST has made us; and from there, allow who He has made you to be to flow from there. An apple tree will bear apples. It doesn't have to try not make oranges. It just produces fruit. And the fruit it produces is apples, because that is what it is. An apple tree!

So who are you?? Yes, you a believer. But what has He made you to be? Leaders lead, salesmen sell, singers sing, actors act, preachers preach, teachers teach, mechanics fix, businessmen do business and mothers mother. Don't try and be who He hasn't made you to be. Be who He has made you. 

Being who Jesus has made you, using the talents He has given you to love and serve others, will be rewarded. You doing Kingdom stuff when you release the giftings, the graces and the talents He has put in you. The will of God for your life is not miserable, heavy or unexciting. The call of God for you brings much joy, you have that EUREKA!! feeling when you doing it. Just be who He has made you. Use your gift to serve others. You don't have to be like anyone else. Be you. It brings Him much pleasure!

Be who He's made you!!

I used to believe that there was a massive divide between the sacred and the secular. I didn't think I was fulfilling God's call for my life or advancing the Kingdom if I wasn't doing something in the local church i.e. leading a Bible study, attending a prayer meeting or praying with someone at a service. I was so frustrated that I was working in the "world" and not able to do "full time" ministry. In my mind, my work from Monday to Friday was secular and my "here and there" involvement with church stuff was sacred. Boy, I could not wait to be "promoted" to full time ministry where I could serve the Lord, do Kingdom stuff, all the time. Until then, frustration. I want my life to count for something. If it means selling everything and starting an orphanage in India, then so be it! But surely not stuck here, in East London, doing what I'm doing. Surely!!??

The truth, I'm beginning to discover, is totally different. The Kingdom of God is not the local church and doing His will and fulfilling His call for my life isn't just restricted to the four walls of the church every now and then. In fact, if I'm being who God  has made me and using my 'talents' to benefit others, then I am indeed advancing His Kingdom and doing His will. Sacred and secular?? No such thing. 

What are the things that I love to do, the things that I'm good at, the things that make me shout "Eureka!" on the inside when I do them? The call of God, the will of God, his good deeds planned for me to do and fulfill while here on earth are not miserable, boring or heavy. On the contrary, they are satisfying, bring joy and they are there to enrich the lives of everyone around me. It's extremely fulfilling and satisfying. And they bring Him pleasure!

Holy Spirit is teaching me and showing me that his purposes for my life aren't coming in the future. They here. They now. I'm doing them. And if I'm not, why not? Go for it. Hit it for a 6. Go wild. Be who I am. Be who He created me to be; and be loud while doing it. Don't hold back. He wants me to blaze paths for others to follow. The most unexpected people will follow. The character, the personality he has given me; the market place environment that He has placed me in, is no accident. I will blaze my path. Just be. Stop trying to mold and change into what I think I need to be in order to be used, in order to be effective. Just be. Just be who I am. He likes me. He likes who He has made me to be. BE!! Just be.

Paul had the following to say to the Colossian Christians:

"Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony."

He spent the first few chapters telling them who they were. And from their identity, came their responsibility. It's out of our identity hat we get purpose. And then from there he said the most profound statement:

"And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him." 

Do know what "whatever" means in Greek?? It means "whatever". 

HOW TO MAKE THAT TOUGH DECISION

A friend of mine recently asked me to give him some advice on how to know for sure what God's will was for a big decision he needed to make. He is seriously thinking of immigrating overseas but with the success stories, he's also heard the bad ones. And he wants to make sure that this decision isn't going to be a bad one. Wise man. And what makes him even wiser is that he wants to make sure this is what God wants for him and his family. Very wise man.

I think there are some very key points one should consider before making that big decision: immigrating overseas, buying the right house in the right neighborhood, marrying the right person, taking that job in another city, etc. Feel free to add to the list below, but from what I've experienced I would consider these some very key indicators in helping you make the right choice.

1. NEVER RUSH. No big decision needs to be made in haste. If someone is pressurizing you to make that decision in 24 hours or else you'll miss out...rather miss out; if you have to rush to make the decision, more often that not, it's not the right direction for you.

2. GOD OPENS THE DOOR. Most big things that happen in life just happen. They come to you. I've found that if I want that Joburg job so bad, that I've got to phone around, I've got to set up interviews, I've got to go against the grain to MAKE it happen, it's not God. Speak to people who've had big decisions to make; they testify that things just feel into place, things just flowed...If you are one having to force things to happen and convince people why they should, etc. it's not the right thing. When God opens the door, He keeps it open. 

3. HOLY SPIRIT LEADS WITH PEACE. Peace is the key to all big decisions. Holy Spirit leads with peace. If there isn't peace, it's not God. I'm not saying there won't be some anxiety or maybe even some fear; that's where courage will carry you...but peace within the storm, peace that surpasses understanding is what you looking for. 

4. NEVER MAKE YOUR DECISION BECAUSE OF MONEY. Just don't. Unwise.

5. SHARE WITH A CHRISTIAN FRIEND. And I'm not talking about a "yes" friend. I'm talking about a friend who'll ask you the hard questions, who will test your motives and come along side you in prayer. 

So if you faced to make a decision that has presented itself to you, my advice would be to let it sit on the shelf for some time. Don't rush. Don't be in a hurry. Pray. And wait. Ask yourself "Is God opening the doors? Is He presenting this before me or have I tried to manufacture this result?" Speak to your friend, ask them to pray with you and allow them to ask the hard questions; and accept their advice. Let peace in your soul be the voice of the Holy Spirit. 

Make a wise decision.